IDF major general visits Chabad of Hewlett

Israel Defense Forces Major General Yair Naveh paid a visit to the new Chabad of Hewlett Jewish Center on Franklin Avenue in Hewlett on April 6.

Naveh addressed a packed house and thanked the Hewlett community for supporting Israel, especially since the Jewish state faces multiple threats. “Israel is under real threat and we will do everything to protect ourselves,” said Naveh, a candidate to be appointed the next IDF Chief of Staff.

He said Israel and the U.S. agree that Iran is a genuine nuclear threat and there is a new understanding in U.S. military circles that the “Arab spring” will not create real democracies in some of the Middle East. “That must start with education, in the family, and on the street — and not only in elections.”

Crediting the Israeli Secret Service with the nearly zero terror attacks inside Israel in the last few years; Naveh said that Israel has made it very clear to Syria that any movement of chemical weapons to Hezbollah or any other terrorist organization will be stopped by Israel.

“If Assad uses chemical weapons against his own people, there is no reason to think that he will not use it against Jews and Israel,” Naveh said. “Most of the very terror attacks have nothing to do with the conflict with the Palestinians. These more recent terrorists [are sent from deep within countries] and have never even seen a Jew,” hinting about some of the Israeli operations in Sudan and other countries. “We more than ever need a very strong army, and definitely the help of God.